Monday, October 17, 2011

J: This, my friends, is Paolo Nutini. Though is name sounds Italian as all get-out, he's actually a Scottish crooner. And I saw him live! In Munich! And I bought a shirt!

Excited me, circa 2007.

Bottom line, he has a crazy-thick Scottish brogue, even when he sings. And it's glorious.

Mr. Nutini (Nutella-ini? Nut Thin-ini?) has released two CDs, the first of which I own, the second of which I'd like to own. In addition to the great accent, his music is also delightfully up-beat, creative, and introspective. Worth a listen, for sure!

J: Welcome to Blog with a Brogue!
If I slip and write in all-caps, don't hold it against me.

M: YOU'RE JUST SO EXCITED!

J: SO VERY EXCITED
(ahem)
(Meredith sips wine)
(Meredith laughs hysterically)
(Meredith does NOT fall out of her chair)

M: A heartfelt 'thank you' to The Pig for (unknowingly) hosting the launch of our new blog!

J: Oh, they'll know sooner or later.
We'll make sure of it.

M: They'll all know...
So, Jenna, why don't you tell us a little bit about what we're doing here at BWAB...

J: (Jenna can't get over the new acronym. Seriously folks, this is the first I've seen of it.)
In any case, BWAB is all about what we love. Namely, accents of an... atlantic nature.

M: And great movies...
hopefully.

J: We're hoping to use our love of languages to inform you lovely people of the wonders of film featuring actors, directors, even screen-writers who have a natural brogue.
Let's clarify "brogue" for the dear people, how abouts it?

M: Well, according to the good people at Wikipedia, a brogue is "a style of low-heeled shoe or boot traditionally characterized by multiple-piece, sturdy leather uppers with decorative perforations (or "brogueing")..."

J: That's nice.
Totally irrelevant.
What am I paying you for?

M: I kid! I kid!
[brohg]
1. An Irish accent in the pronunciation of English.
2. Any strong regional accent.

J: How very apt! While our true, er, passions lie with Irish brogue, we're happy to view, swoon over, and post about any sort of brogue we come across.
And as such, it's time to introduce the term: Atlantic Archepelago.
I don't think I spelled that right.

M: Nope.

J: Let's employ a little copy/paste, shall we?

M: Mmm...paste.

J: (Laughed out loud at the Pig. Take no mind, gentle patrons, it'll all be over soon.)

M: (Man across room puts on headphones...)

J: "The term British Isles is controversial in Ireland,[7][12] where there are objections to its usage due to the association of the word British with Ireland.[13] The Government of Ireland does not use the term[14] and its embassy in London discourages its use.[15] As a result, Britain and Ireland is becoming a preferred description,[13][16][17] and Atlantic Archipelago is increasingly favoured in academia,[18][19][20][21] although British Isles is still commonly employed.[16]"

We can explain...

A hundred years ago, when we were in high school, we bonded over our mutual love of Irish culture. With a little hard work and one traumatizing Student Senate experience, The Irish American Club was born!

Though the club accomplished nothing more than holding a St. Patrick's Day bake sale (which funded some seriously rad t-shirts), we're back again for another try. This time, it's different (we swear!).

We recently spent a year studying beginning Irish Gaelic at the Irish Cultural Center in Kansas City, Missouri. We also both own laptops and enough expendable income to find and view plenty of movies. Then there's the matter of all the time we've discovered we have since graduating from college...

Bottom line: Blog with a Brogue is a chance for us, and you, to delve a little deeper into one of the things we find most fascinating about Irish (or any) culture: the accent. In this blog, we're featuring accents from the Atlantic Archipelago, which includes Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England.

Sit back, grab a pint of your favorite beverage (if it's in a pint glass, it counts), and enjoy!